Our Rooms

Lollipops Tauranga has three separate rooms, enabling us to deliver safe, nurturing and age appropriate learning experiences for all our children.  

Pohutakawa Room

Specially designed for children aged from approximately 3 months to 2.5 years old, our Pohutakawa Room is a kind, nurturing and welcoming space.

Daily Routine

7:30 am: Breakfast Club in Pohutawaka Room (Weet-Bix, cornflakes, rice bubbles)

8:00 am: Kauri and Rimu Rooms open
Free play (mixed environment) – outside activities include sandpit, water, obstacle courses etc while inside activities include arts and crafts and a range of table top activities

8:30 am: Free play (separate environments)                        

9:00 am:  Wash hands, karakia, morning tea                 

9:25 am: Free play inside and outside/optional teacher supported planned experiences based on children’s interests
Transitioning children visit Kauri Room with support from a teacher                      

11:00 am: Karakia and lunch (everybody comes together to sit at the kai tables, teachers sit with the children engaging in discussions, encouraging eating and modelling table manners)

11:30 am: Rest time inside – bottles and sleeps for those who need them/quiet time for those who don’t sleep

12:30 pm: Free play and planned experiences
Outside and inside activities rotated
Teacher supported planned experiences based on children’s interests (children join if they want to)
Environment is tidied and reset
Farewell morning children and welcome afternoon children

2:00 pm: Wash hands, karakia and afternoon tea                   

2:30 pm:  Afternoon activities and free play outside and inside
Optional teacher supported planned experiences based on children’s interests                

5:30 pm: Centre closes                      

While this is a general outline of our daily routine, we are flexible in catering to parents’ home routines and any requests regarding sleeps, bottles and kai times.

Kauri Room

This is our toddler room, offering lots of fun and educational opportunities for our 2.5 to 3.5 year olds during this important stage.

Daily Routine

7:30 am: Breakfast Club in Pohutawaka Room (Weet-Bix, cornflakes, rice bubbles)

8:00 am: Kauri and Rimu Rooms open
Free play (mixed environment) – outside activities include sandpit, water, obstacle courses etc while inside activities include arts and crafts and a range of table top activities

8:30 am: Free play (separate environments)

9:00 am: Wash hands, karakia, rolling morning tea starts

9:45 am: Free play inside and outside
Optional teacher supported planned experiences based on children’s interests
Nappies and toileting

10:45 am: Tidy up and mat time including stories, songs, and interactive activities (if children do not want to join, they can do a quiet activity inside or outside)
Children wash their hands/sleep room is set up

11:00 am: Karakia and rolling lunch (teachers sit with children engaging in discussions, encouraging eating and modelling table manners; children are individually marked off after they have eaten)

11:45 am: Free play and rest time inside
Lights are turned off, calm music is played, and quiet activities are encouraged
Sleepers are put to bed in the sleep room after nappies, toileting and bottles are done (if needed)

12:45 pm: Free play/teacher supported planned experiences based on children’s interests (children join if they want to)

1:45 pm: Teachers support children in afternoon tidy up

2:00 pm:  Wash hands, karakia and rolling afternoon tea

2:30 pm: Free play inside and outside/teacher supported planned experiences based on children’s interests (children join if they want to)

3:30 pm: Children merge with the Rimu Room for free play                               

5:30 pm: Centre closes

Rimu Room

Our Rimu Room is where the outcomes of our curriculum for 3.5 to 6 year olds support children’s success. By embedding ‘school readiness’ learning within the curriculum we foster children’s transition to school throughout their everyday activities.

Daily Routine

7:30 am: Breakfast Club in Pohutawaka Room (Weet-Bix, cornflakes, rice bubbles)

8:00 am: Kauri and Rimu Rooms open
Free play - outside activities include sandpit, water, obstacle courses etc while inside activities include arts and crafts and a range of table top activities

9:15 am: Wash hands, karakia, rolling morning tea starts – children serve themselves kai with teacher support

9:45 am: Free play and planned experiences inside and outside
Teacher supported planned experiences based on children's interests (children join if they want to)

10:30 am: Inside tidy up

10:45 am: Mat time - days of week/weather, songs/games, story and kai leader chosen  
Children who don’t want to join mat time can do a quiet activity inside

11:00 am: Wash hands, karakia and lunch - everybody comes together to sit at the kai tables, we light our candles and the kai leader leads karakia and helps teachers. Children serve their own lunch and water buffet style; teachers sit with children engaging in discussions, encouraging eating and modelling table manners.

11:45 am: Free play and rest time inside
Lights are turned off, calm music is played, and quiet activities are encouraged

12:45 pm: Free play and planned experiences
Outside and inside activities rotated
Teacher supported planned experiences based on children's interests (children join if they want to)
On Tuesdays and Thursdays we run our Pathways to School Programme for the children leading up to school

1:45 pm: Wash hands, karakia and rolling afternoon tea – children serve themselves kai with teacher support

2:30 pm: Inside tidy up - a group tidy up for children who choose to help, getting ready to go home, gathering belongings etc.

3:00 pm: Group games - for children who wish to join, we bring out the special afternoon group games and children choose which one they want to play

3:30 pm: The Rimu Room is packed away and children merge with the Kauri Room for free play

5:30 pm: Centre closes